Escape From The Boiling Rock
by TheKingsHorseAndTheKingsMen
Summary: Zuko attention was pulled from his sister for just a second, which he knew was one of the worst mistakes he could have made at that moment. When his eyes when back to his sister, the first thing he became aware of was blue fire hitting his chest and burning through his clothes and skin as he was thrown back.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just a different version of the end of The Boiling Rock: Part 2 episode. This is also my first story for Avatar: The Last Airbender, so I apologize if characters seem different. Especially Chit Sang. I like his character and wish there had been more of him in the story, so that is what I will do. Also, this story will have a sequel in a way. I will go through when they had to leave the air temple, then I will end it there and start a new story to continue the series my way.**

 **\- Disclaimer: If I owned the show or comic series I wouldn't be writing this.**

 **\- Rated: T**

 **\- Warnings: Nothing that hasn't already been shown in the show or comic series.**

 **\- Written: August 28th 2015**

 **\- Edited: September 28th 2016**

 **\- Chapter 1: Escape**

 *** "Speaking"  
* **_**Thoughts  
**_ ***** **Dreaming  
** ***** " **Dream Speaking"** **  
*** _ **Memories**_

 ***** " _ **Memory Speaking"**_

* * *

 **"** **Everyone in!" Suki ordered as she quickly opened the door to the gondola and waved for the rest to follow her.**

Once Sokka, his father and Chit Sang entered, Suki looked around for Zuko. She spotted him next to the lever that set the gondola in motion. He quickly pushed the lever down, then began to kick it. Everyone stood there, wondering just what he was thinking. He took a glance over his shoulder at a group of guards that were running towards them, took one last kick at the lever, snapping it off. The moment the lever broke off, he took off into a sprint towards the gondola and jumped from the platform where it docks.

Sokka was the first to move, quickly running to the windows facing the gondola platform. He thrust himself halfway out of the gondola, just to make sure he was able to grab onto Zuko's arm. The weight of the older boy nearly ripped him out of the gondola and almost sending them both into the scorching waters below. He groaned with the effort of trying to pull the former prince up as he swung. Zuko grabbed onto the edge of the window and began to pull himself up, Sokka grabbing onto the back of his shirt and shoulders to help him inside.

"What were you doing?" Sokka nearly screamed. he almost had a heart attack when he saw Zuko leap from the platform. It was a miracle he had managed to get a hold of the firebender before he fell from his reach and plunged to the water.

"Making it so they can't stop us." Zuko answered, as if the stunt he'd just pulled hadn't nearly cost him his life.

Sokka felt himself relax as he thought about what Zuko told him. "Way to think ahead." He said. He then instantly felt stupid, because that was not something that he would have ever thought about when they were trying to escape. To be honest, he just thought that the gondola couldn't be stopped once it was set in motion. In his defense, he grew up in the Southern Water Tribe and they didn't exactly have much experience when it came to machines. Zuko on the other hand…

"Wait." Hakoda suddenly said, causing the others to look at him. He was standing next to Suki, looking back towards the platform. He pointed to two figures standing at the edge. "Who's that?"

Sokka and Zuko instantly headed over to him and looked to the platform. Zuko grit his teeth. "That's a problem." He said slowly. "It's my sister and her friend."

"Your sister has friends?" Sokka suddenly asked with a confused stare.

"Unfortunately." Zuko answered just as Ty Lee jumped up onto the ropes holding the gondola up, while Azula stole a guard's cuffs, using them to attach herself to the rope while using her fire to propel her towards them.

"What?!" Sokka yelled and took a closer look. "Oh great… We come this far only to be killed by a crazy, lightning wielding psycho and her circus friend!"

"We're not dead yet." Zuko said as he turned to look at Sokka. "She won't be able to bend lighting up here. There's too much metal and not enough room to move around."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sokka then asked, holding his arms out to the side.

Zuko had to resist slapping the Water Tribe boy. Had he grown up in the Fire Nation, he would have. "Metal conducts electricity, which is what lightning is. Lightning is attracted to several things, one of them being metal. The lighting has a higher chance of redirecting and going through the gondola and not at us. It would still probably kill us, but she'd end up electrocuting herself too. She won't risk it." He explained as he turned his attention back to the quickly approaching girls. "What we have to worry about, is her blue fire." He said with a grim expression.

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better!" Sokka yelled sarcastically, waving his arms around.

"This is a rematch I've been waiting for." Suki said as she glared at Ty Lee.

"Me too." Zuko said and looked at his sister. Both he and Suki looked at each other before they pulled themselves onto the top of the gondola.

"This isn't a good idea!" Sokka yelled as he thrust his head out of one of the windows and looked up to the roof.

"You got a better plan?" Zuko asked, his head coming from over he side so that he could look at Sokka. "If we don't do something, we're dead." Saying this shut Sokka up.

"I still don't like this plan." Sokka said as he pulled himself to the top with Suki and Zuko. He drew his sword while Zuko and Suki got into fighting stances.

Ty Lee jumped off of the roof and flipped over the group, landing on the other side of Suki, who quickly turned to her, anger in her eyes as Ty Lee stood up. Zuko and Sokka turned back to Azula the second they heard her feet hit the roof of the gondola. Azula was smiling and quickly took her stance, before turning in a full circle and producing a fire kick. Zuko jumped up and blocked her fire with his own. While Zuko and Sokka fought Azula, Suki had most of her focus on Ty Lee. Being careful to dodge any fire the made it past Zuko, trying to ignore just how close some of it had been.

The next blast of fire Azula sent, Zuko blocked easily and the second the fire had dispersed, Sokka came from behind him and swung at her, she dodged easily. Zuko was going to have to hit Sokka at least once when this was over for such a stupid move. Sokka knew he shouldn't ever get that close to the Fire Nation princess and he had done it anyway. Azula went to throw fire at him, but he jumped back quickly allowing Zuko to come up and block the fire, but not far enough to end up in Suki's fight. Zuko threw his own fire at her and she jumped in the air, twisting and landing back down again, smiling at him. Her smile quickly vanished and she jumped back, narrowly avoiding the blade of Sokka's sword. She was then forced to duck as Zuko's fire went over her. She now balanced on the edge of the gondola with her hands, most of her weight having to be leaned forward. She looked up and then pulled her legs back over the gondola, through her arms and shot fire at Zuko and Sokka. The both jumped to the side to avoid it.

For a moment, Azula abandoned firebending completely and jumped to Sokka in an attempt to kick him. Zuko quickly grabbed Sokka by the back of his armor and pushed him back. Azula's attack ended up landing a hard kick on Zuko's abdomen.

The former prince was forced back and into the middle of the gondola, he gritted his teeth trying to keep from yelling out as he felt several of his ribs snap from the force. His head snapped back against the metal and for a moment he saw and heard nothing. He shook his head slightly and forced himself up to avoid more fire. He stumbled slightly, his vision tilting and almost going black again, his ears ringing so loudly in his head that he could swear he felt vibrations. His head pounded and he felt like he wanted to throw up, but he kept his stance and waited for another attack.

"What's wrong, Zuzu?" Azula said with a smile on her face. "Can't take a hit." She said and returned to firebending.

Their fight continued on this way. Azula and Zuko throwing fire at each other and either dodging it or blocking it, Zuko trying to keep his balance, Sokka trying to get in a hit or two when Zuko blocked her fire. That is until Zuko heard the Warden yell. "Cut the line!"

Zuko attention was pulled from his sister for just a second, just one moment, which he knew was one of the worst mistakes he could have made at that time. When his eyes when back to his sister, not even a second later, the first thing he became aware of was blue fire hitting his chest and burning through his clothes and skin as he was thrown back.

"Zuko!" Sokka yelled as he saw the older boy get thrown back as though he weighed nothing. He tried desperately to reach for him, to keep him from falling from the gondola, but he was just too far away.

The only reason Zuko hadn't fallen straight off the gondola, was the miracle that as he was thrown back, Ty Lee kicked Suki and he hit her. They both slid, but Suki managed to grab onto the middle of the gondola and the back of Zuko's shirt. She let out a pained grunt as she felt and heard popping in her left shoulder and elbow, when the gondola suddenly lurched and she was dragged toward the edge a bit. She dared not let go of the firebender in her grasp, her heart lurching itself when she heard fabric rip.

"Sokka!" She yelled when she saw her boyfriend sliding towards the edge of the gondola, trying to claw at the metal, unable to stop himself. There was nothing she could do. She was barely keeping herself and Zuko on the gondola, is she let go of the metal she was holding onto, both her and Zuko would fall to the water below. She almost screamed for Sokka again, but then she saw Hakoda appear from the side and grab onto his son. She let out a thankful breath and looked back to Ty Lee as the acrobat jumped back onto the line.

Her face went from battle ready to panicked and Suki knew exactly what that had to mean. "They're about to cut the line!" She yelled and looked to Azula.

The gondola straightened out a bit and Suki was able to let go of Zuko and stand. She looked down at Zuko his arms wrapped tightly around his chest, his eyes clenched shut. Her eyes widened at the scorch marks that littered his chest. But that was a burn and while she knew burns, especially burns that big probably felt like his skin was being ripped off, that's not what worried her the most. No. What worried her was the blood at the corner of his mouth. Even with everything that he'd done to her village, to her friends, she hoped that he'd only bit his tongue.

"Then it's time to leave." Azula said, causing everyone to look at her as she used her firebending to launch herself to the other gondola that was passing theirs. "Have fun watching him suffer." She said as she got away from them. Ty Lee followed her and jumped to the other gondola. "I only wish that I would be there to see it myself."

Sokka climbed back up to the top and ran over to Suki and Zuko. He stopped and stared at Zuko for a moment, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. "Oh no…" He whispered as he looked at Zuko. He turned his look to Suki. He had no clue what to do, what to say. Katara was the one who always knew how to deal with injuries, especially injuries like that. She was the one who could look at someone she cared for hurt and still think logically about what needed to be done.

"We need to get off the roof. Help me with him." She said and quickly turned to Zuko, kneeling down, grabbing onto his shoulder with her good arm and beginning to drag him towards the edge.

Sokka shook himself from his thoughts and helped her. "Dad, help us get Zuko back into the gondola!" Sokka yelled down to his father as he helped Suki get Zuko to the edge. When they got him there, Hokoda was halfway out of the gondola with Chit Sang holding onto the front of his shirt.

Slowly and carefully Suki and Sokka handed Zuko over to Hakoda, who was quickly pulled back into the gondola by Chit Sang. He then helped Suki in who in turn helped Sokka in. She was forced to grab onto him with both hands when the gondola lurched again. She winced and gritted her teeth, tears at the corner of her eyes. Hakoda was by her side instantly and grabbed onto his son. Sokka grit his teeth when he felt her joints move in ways they were not supposed to.

He turned his attention towards the platform to see what was going on. "Hey." He called up. "It's Zuko's girlfriend. That gloomy girl with knives." He said, causing Hakoda and Suki to look at May. "She's fighting the guards!" He said as they pulled him in. A few moments later, the gondola began to move again.

"Let's be thankful for that." Hakoda said as he looked the other way at the other docking station that was now almost close enough to jump to.

"Suki!" Sokka yelled. "What happened?!" He asked as he looked at her arm and the dark bruises that were forming around her elbow. Given how her arm felt when she grabbed him, he feared that her joints were dislocated, and it turns out he was right. He made an attempt to grab her arm to look at the damage. She only backed away from him.

"When I grabbed onto Zuko, then grabbed onto the gondola, it dislocated my shoulder and elbow. I'll be fine once they're back in place. Right now," She said and looked to Zuko, who was currently being looked over by Chit Sang. "I'm more worried about him."

Sokka sighed and looked to Zuko as Hakoda walked over to the firebenders and kneeled down on the other side of Zuko. The younger firebender was no longer wincing in pain or had his arms wrapped around his chest in an attempt to relieve his pain. Instead his arms were at his side and he was staring at the ceiling of the gondola, his breathing shallow and uneven, his eyes unfocused.

"Sokka." Hakoda said and looked to his son. "Did he hit his head while you two were fighting?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah." Sokka said with a slight nod. "He pushed me out of the way of one of Azula's attacks, but it forced him back and he hit his head against the gondola." Sokka answered.

"That's probably why he's not very responsive right now." Hakoda said as the gondola stopped. He looked down at the injured teen once more, before looking to Chit Sang. The man only nodded and slipped his arms under the former princes knees and shoulders, lifting him up with ease, before running out of the gondola with the others, being careful not to jar Zuko around too much.

"Sorry Warden." Hakoda said as he looked back at the Warden. "But your record is officially broken." He said as he caught up with the others.

"Great," Sokka said. "Now how do we get off of this death trap?" He said quickly as he looked around.

"When I was brought here, there was a dock just this way." She said and pointed before quickly going to the edge of the cliff. "There." She said and pointed with her good arm at Azula's airship. "We can get away from here using that." She said and looked to the others.

"You ever pilot one?" Sokka asked. "Cause I know we haven't." He said and gestured to his father and himself. "And Zuko's out of commision right now."

"I can." Chit Sang suddenly said, causing everyone to look at him. "What? I'm not as dumb as I look. Before I was sent here, I was training in mechanics. Fire Nation airships have the same parts as just about everything in the Fire Nation that uses machines. It wouldn't take a genius to work one."

"Guess you really never should judge someone before you get to know them…" Sokka said, surprised at the man they had just broken out of prison, without even knowing why he was sent in the first place. "Glad you found out about our escape plan."

"What are we waiting for, let's get out of here." Suki said. "I can't imagine Azula is going to sit by and let us escape. She could be on that other gondola right now."

They quickly headed down the cliff and to the docking area, before running onto the airship. "Here." He said and passed Zuko, who at this point was unconscious, to Hakoda. A moment later firebenders were surrounding them. Chit Sang smiled, cracked his neck and made quick work of them before he tossed them out of the airship, shutting the entrance and heading to the controls. "I'm going to need help. It takes at least two people to get one of these into the air." He called back.

"You think you're up to that, Sokka?" Hakoda asked and looked to his son. Sokka nodded and ran up to Chit Sang, doing everything he said, with a little bit of frustration on his part. Within a few minutes, they were slowly climbing into the air and flying away from the Boiling Rock. While they were busy flying, Hakoda gently set Zuko down and turned to Suki. "Let me look at your arm." He said. She nodded and walked over to him. "I'm going to put your joints back into place, so how about you sit down first."

She sighed, knowing exactly how this was going to feel and sat down. She grit her teeth so that she didn't bite her tongue and took a deep breath as Hakoda forced her shoulder back into place. She almost let out a scream, but held it in and closed her eyes tightly, a few tears slipping past and down her cheeks. Hakoda didn't give her a warning with either joint, which she was glad for. It was always worse when a warning was given.

"I don't think you'll have any lasting problems besides pain for a few days." He said and looked at her. "Try not to move your arm around too much." He said, giving her a small smile.

"I know." It came out a little rude and she quickly apologized. "Sorry. It just that I've been a warrior for so long, that I'm use to injuries like this and know what and what not to do."

He only smiled back and shook his head, before turning his attention to Zuko. Sokka came walking back over to them and sat beside Suki. "You all right?" He asked. She smiled and nodded.

"I'm fine." She said. "I've had worse during training." She said and then looked to Zuko, before sighing and leaning back against the wall. "You think he'll be all right?" She asked.

"Probably." Sokka said. "No matter how hard we or anyone else tried, we never could get rid of him." He said with a small smile. His smile vanished when he saw Suki's worried face. "Suki?"

She sighed. "I know I shouldn't care about him. Not after everything he's done… But for some reason I can't help but worry about him." She said and pulled her legs closer, resting her arms on her knees. Sokka put his arm around her and she leaned into him.

"I know the feeling." He said and looked at Zuko. "He chased us around the world for so long, that when I started seeing him as part of our strange little family, I was wondering why I began to care about him too." He said and paused for a moment. "Then I realized, even though he's done so many bad things. He was just as scared as we were."

"When did you become so smart?" She asked and looked at him.

He smiled and laughed slightly. "Hey, just like Chit Sang, I'm not as dumb as I seem." He said and looked at her.

She sighed and rested her head on his chest. "I just don't see how he can go from begin what he was, to being how he is now. It just doesn't seem possible."

"We all thought the same thing too and Katara still does think that… But like Aang said, everyone deserves a second chance. Though," He said and leaned back against the wall. "Not everyone takes that chance. He did. He genuinely wants to end this war and stop what his nation is doing. He wants to fix his mistakes."

"He can't fix all of them." She said and shook her head.

"No one can. But he'll have to live with that and that's the cost of what he did. In the end, what's done is done and there's no real point in dragging it along." He said. "Least, that's what Toph said. I agree with her on that. I never thought Zuko would turn out to be such a great friend, but he did. I never would have found that out if Aang had not agreed to give him a second chance. I would also have not found you or dad."

Suki smiled slightly. "If that's how it is, then even with what happened to my village, I'm glad he's around."

"So am I." Sokka said after a quiet moment.

After a couple of hours Suki had fallen asleep. Hakoda was tending to Zuko and Sokka was giving Chit Sang directions on where to go.

Suki woke to Sokka gently shaking her shoulders. "Sokka?" She asked with a yawn. "Is Zuko alright?" She asked and sat up slightly. She loved Sokka, but her arm was numb from how she had been lying and she needed to move it.

"Yes." Hakoda said with a nod. "He has a head injury, but I don't think it's bad enough to worry about. He has two broken ribs and has some bad burns on his chest and arms, but I don't think it'll scar. At least not if we can get him to Katara in the next day or two." He said and sat down in front of them. "He's over there." He said and nodded to Zuko, who was sleeping a few yards away from them, his chest heavily bandaged.

"There was blood at the corner of his mouth." Sokka said after a moment and looked to Hakoda.

He nodded. "It could be something with his lungs or other internal bleeding. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about too much and like I said, as long as we can get him to Katara, he'll be fine." He said and leaned against what appeared to be a meeting table.

"That's good." Suki said with a small yawn.

"I suggest you two go back to sleep. Chit Sang said he could handle getting us to the Air Temple. I'll wake you two when we got there." Hakoda said. "I just wanted to tell you how Zuko was doing."

The two teens in front of him didn't argue with that and quickly fell back asleep. He sighed and ran a hand down his face before he stood. "If you want to try and sleep, you can." Chit Sang suddenly said, causing Hakoda to look over to him.

The Water Tribe leader shook his head. "No, it's fine." He said as she leaned back against the meeting table, putting his hands on the edge of it.

"You don't trust me." Chit Sang then said.

Hakoda couldn't deny that. He didn't know this man, he had no reason to trust him. "I don't." Hakoda said and shook his head. "But that's not why I'm not going to try and sleep."

"Then why?" Chit Sang glanced back at the darker man.

"I haven't seen my children in three years. I've been a prisoner several times in those years, each time I thought I would be killed and I'd never see them again." Hakoda answered, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was worried about them everyday. Now here I am, my son in front of me and my daughter getting closer."

"You're scared it's not real?" Chit Sang asked over his shoulder.

"No. I know it's real." Hakoda said and shook his head. "I have had many times where I could have returned to my tribe, only to have that chance taken from me. I know how easily all of this could be taken, and that is what scares me."

"You're from the Southern Water Tribe, right?" Chit Sang asked as he flipped a few switches and turned to look at him.

"I am." Hakoda answered with a small nod.

"Do you know why the Fire Nation has tried so hard to get rid of the waterbenders from the North and South?" The firebender asked as he crossed his arms and leaned against the control panels, careful not to lean on any of the actual controls.

"If the airbender Avatar died, the cycle would be broken if there wasn't a waterbender." He answered with a shrug.

"Yes and no." Chit Sang said and shook his head. "Though it's rare, firebenders, earthbenders, airbenders and waterbenders, can all have children that bend a different element. My uncle's wife had an earthbending daughter." He said as he turned his eyes away for a moment. He sighed and looked back to Hakoda. "The Fire Nation left the rest of your tribe alone. Even if they had killed the last waterbender, it wouldn't be like someone from your tribe couldn't give birth to another waterbender."

"What are you saying?" Hakoda asked with a tilted head.

Chit Sang shrugged. "It's just strange is all." He said as he turned back to the controls. "If the airbender had died all those years ago, the Avatar would have probably already been born a waterbender. Not that I know a lot about how the cycle works, but from what I understand, once the Avatar dies, another is either born or conceived. If that's the case, even if the Avatar had still been in his mother's womb when the Fire Nation killed the rest of the airbenders, he would have just been reborn again, right?"

Hakoda was silent as he thought about what Chit Sang had just said. "A lot of what is taught in your nation is propaganda, right?" Hakoda asked, gaining a nod from Chit Sang. "Do you think it would be possible that the Fire Lord was trying to get the Avatar to be born a firebender?"

"I don't know. Maybe." He said with a sigh. "I wouldn't doubt it." He shook his head slightly.

"It would make the most sense." Hakoda said, looking towards Zuko. "Children can be molded to be certain ways. If the Fire Nation had an Avatar born to them, then they could almost ensure how the rest of the world would run…"

 **A/N: I had nowhere else to go after that, so I just ended it here. Ummm… Yeah, that's it for now. This is a story from my original account, that was almost finished on that account. I lost the login for that account, made this one, got back into that one, then decided to move my stories to this one. The only thing I will be doing, is going back and editing my work.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, this updated so quickly from my other stories because it was originally intended to be a one-shot, but I decided that it was too long and therefore I broke it up into multiple parts. The quote in this is from Buddha.**

 **\- Disclaimer: I do not own the show or comic series.**

 **\- Rated: T**

 **\- Warnings: Character Injury. Nothing that hasn't already been shown in the show/comic series.**

 **\- Written: Hell if I know.**

 **\- Edited: 10/8/16**

 **\- Chapter 2: Return to the Western Air Temple**

 *** "Speaking"  
* **_**Thoughts  
**_ ***** **Dreaming  
** ***** " **Dream Speaking"** **  
*** _ **Memories**_

 ***** " _ **Memory Speaking"**_

* * *

 **A day and a half journey later, Hakoda was woken up by Chit Sang shaking his shoulder, a little roughly he would add. Because of how Chit Sang woke him, he nearly shot up from where he had been sitting, thinking that there was an attack or a problem. Instead, he just got Chit Sang's dumb grin.**

"We're here." The firebender said as he stood and helped the Water Tribe member to his feet. "I got him." Chit Sang said and nodded over to where Zuko was still passed out on the floor.

Hakoda looked at him for a moment, said nothing, then turned to his sleeping son and his girlfriend. He stretched slightly and then walked over to the two teens, kneeling down and gently shaking both of them awake.

Sokka yawned, stretched his free arm, and then looked at his father. "What is it?" He asked tiredly.

"We're at the Air Temple." Hakoda answered as Suki yawned and pushed herself away from Sokka.

Sokka's arm instantly felt cold and he shivered slightly. He was grateful to have his arm back though, even if it was tingling and cold. He pushed himself up and helped Suki stand as well. When he turned to the adults, he found they were ready to get out of the airship. Chit Sang was carrying Zuko again, while Hakoda opened the door and stepped out onto the walkway that lead down to the Air Temple. Cold air instantly blew through and into the airship as he walked down the walkway and stepped out onto the stone of the Air Temple. He was instantly tackled into a hug by his youngest child.

"Dad!" Katara shouted happily, tears in her eyes. "What's going on?!" She asked and turned to the airship, Sokka and Suki walking out and towards them. "Suki?" She was going to ask more questions, but stopped when she saw a large man she didn't know step out, carrying Zuko. "Wh-what happened?" She asked and looked to her father, then to Sokka and Suki. "And who's he?" She asked and looked at Chit Sang.

"This is Chit Sang and we'll explain later." Sokka said, throwing his thumb over his shoulder at Chit Sang and Zuko. "Right now Zuko needs help. He's got some pretty bad burns, a head injury and broken ribs. We don't know if there's anything else wrong with him." He said and looked at Zuko.

 _Anything else wrong with him?! Of course there is. He's Zuko after all. Everything is wrong with him._ Katara decided it best to keep these thoughts to herself for the time. She hesitantly nodded and motioned for Chit Sang to follow her.

"What happened?!" Katara looked up to see Aang practically fly over to them as quickly as he could. His eyes were glued on Zuko's still form and for a moment, fear gripped him. Zuko looked to still and even paler than he usually was. Almost too pale to still be alive. He prayed that he hadn't lost his mentor and his newest friend. Aang let out a breath when Chit Sang laid Zuko down next to the fire, which caused the older boy to groan slightly, his eyes clenching tightly. At least he was alive.

"Sokka, my dad, Suki and…" She said and looked to Chit Sang. "Chit Sang will explain to us later." She said and turned her attention back to Zuko. "Right now I need to... work on healing Zuko." She said and looked towards the fountain, before bending some water to her. She knelt down next to the firebender and began to heal the burns on his chest, while also trying to heal his ribs as best as she could. While she was still a great healer, she didn't quite have mending broken bones down yet. She could heal them, but they would likely still be very sore, or maybe even cracked. Aang stood there, moving from foot to foot, practically floating in the air as he waited for Katara to finish or to at least say something.

"Aang!" She scolded, turning her eyes to the anxious boy. "Hover somewhere else!" Aang gave a quick sorry. She sighed and finished. "Well, he's probably not going to get any new scars and I was able to mostly heal his ribs." She said once she had finished with his chest and arms. Aang let out a breath, his shoulders slumping slightly in relief.

"What about his head?" Sokka asked. Katara only shook her head.

"I can't do anything about that." She answered, then stopped to explain why, realizing that her tone made it sound like she was refusing. "I mean, I can heal any cuts or fractures that might be on his skull. But I've never had to heal someone's head before. There could be damage that might heal wrong. I could mess something up and even with how much I hate him…" She let out a sigh. "I don't want to risk doing something and him attacking us because of it." She said as she bent the water over the edge of the temple. "I didn't feel anything on his head I could fix, expect for a large bump. I'm guessing that's where he got hit." She said and looked to Sokka, who nodded.

By the time she was done with Zuko, everyone else in their group had found themselves all in the main area of the temple with them. Each one of them asking questions that she and Aang couldn't answer.

"Time to explain." Katara said and looked to Sokka and Suki. "Where did you two go? What happened?" She asked as she sat down next to her father, who put an arm around her and gave her a slight hug as Sokka began to explain their story. How he was going to find their father and Zuko came along with him. How he ended up a guard and Zuko a prisoner. The original plan and staying behind to see if their father was one of the war prisoners that were being transferred there. How that plan had failed. The second plan and how they fought with Azula and her friend. When he finished, Katara stood and hit him over the head.

"Ow! Hey what was that f-" He stopped when Katara hugged him.

"Don't you ever do something like that again, you idiot! You could have been killed!" She yelled as she cried silently. Sokka sighed and returned her hug, Hakoda joining in. "You could have told us! We would have helped!"

"And I thought the Earth Rumble could get of hand fast." Toph said from her spot on the ground near Zuko. While she would never admit it and Zuko probably wouldn't either. The two of them had grown close in the last couple of weeks. She was like the little sister he would have actually wanted. Even with him burning her, that only made her want to spar with him more. And not spar as in fist fighting. No. She wanted him to bend at her so she could have some practice in fighting a firebender. He'd come close to burning her a few times and managed to singe her hair, but Toph learned his stances quickly and where the attack was probably coming from based on the stance he took. They were a lot like the ones Aang used when he would airbend. She did notice slight differences though, mainly in the way Zuko would take in or let out a breath before bending.

"Earth Rumble?" Chit Sang asked and looked to the small girl. He hadn't taken notice before, but now that he looked at one of the smaller members of the group, he noticed she was blind. He almost smiled to himself. He'd heard stories of a little blind girl, who would earthbend in a way that put most firebenders to shame. Mostly because they had been beaten by a little blind girl.

"It's an Earth Bending tournament." She answered, looking in his general direction. "It's pretty simple. All you have to do is knock the other earthbender out of the ring and you win that round." She said and then smiled. "Though, I was part of the reason it got out of hand fast. I'm also part of the reason the first few rows were always empty." She said and laughed quietly, thinking about the first time she knocked someone into the rows and the surprised shouts they gave when she'd beaten him so easily.

"Sounds similar to an Agni Kai." Chit Sang then said as he rested his elbows on his knees and looked back at their fire. "Though, an Agni Kai is usually fought to the death nowadays." Saying this, Chit Sang suddenly had the attention of everyone that was sitting around the fire. "What?" He asked, a slightly confused expression on his face.

"To-to the death…" Aang said and looked to Chit Sang. He knew things had changed, and he knew about Agni Kai's, but he didn't think that things changed so much to where an Agni Kai is now fought to the death.

"Why are they fought to the death?" Suki asked after a moment.

"Because an Agni Kai is a battle for one's honor and in the Fire Nation leaving an opponent alive can be considered weak. It depends on the Agni Kai though." Chit Sang said. "Sometimes the opponent is left alive, because at times it is worse for someone in the Fire Nation to not only lose their honor, but then be left alive after. Most families disown anyone who was defeated and left alive in an Agni Kai. Ones that are fought to the death are usually ones where the victor gains something. Like if someone challenged the Fire Lord. If the Fire Lord loses, whoever killed him would gain a position in the government, wealth, in rare cases they would become the Fire Lord. Though, that's only if they were a member of one of the political families or a branch off of the royal family." He explained.

"Why is the Fire Nation obsessed with honor?" Toph asked. "Seems like a stupid thing that holds no real meaning."

"I never really held honor that high, like most in the Fire Nation." Chit Sang said with a shrug. "But the Fire Nation is a very proud and strong nation and most in the Fire Nation are that way too. If you go against the Fire Lord or the nation itself, which there are many ways to do so, you are seen as dishonorable. If your family doesn't disown you, they are seen as dishonorable too. Depending on the offense, the punishment is either prison or death."

"That's horrible." Suki said with a shocked expression.

"Why is it like that now?" Aang then asked.

"I don't know what it was like before. My grandparents rarely ever spoke about it. My father and mother were too young to remember it." Chit Sang shrugged again. "I would guess it happened because of how Sozin saw things." He answered.

"Still seems like a stupid thing to hold so high." Toph said.

"You're not from the Fire Nation, Toph." Aang said. "The only ones here who are, are Zuko and Chit Sang. The rest of us don't know what it's like to grow up in the Fire Nation. For example, those who are born at the Air Temples, regardless of if we could bend or not, believe that all life is sacred and nothing should be killed. We don't eat meat, but the other three nations do. I don't understand why you love eating meat, but I do understand that we are from different places and that our culture is different."

"The culture being different, doesn't excuse what the Fire Nation has done." Katara suddenly said. It wasn't hard to hear the anger that was in her voice. Her hands were clenched into fists on her lap.

"I'm not saying that it is an excuse, Katara. But think about when I went to that Fire Nation school." He said and looked to her. "Everything is way different from the rest of the world and a lot of the culture has been change within the last 100 years. I mean, they weren't allowed to have any fun and the people running the school were very strict. Back when I use to visit the Fire Nation, there were kids my are running around, thinking for themselves. Things are so, so different now. Of course the people there would be raised the way they are, think the way they do." He said and sighed. "A lot of people there don't agree with the war and many of the rest are lied to about the war. It's not right to think everyone in the Fire Nation is evil."

"So now I'm stupid?" Katara asked. Hakoda looked over to her.

"Katara." Hakoda said. "That's enough." She looked at him and sighed, before closing her mouth and looking at the fire. "Katara, I understand your anger towards the Fire Nation. I have that same anger. But look at the people around us now. Without Zuko, Sokka wouldn't have found Suki or I and none of us would have made it out of that prison without Chit Sang. Being angry at the people in the Fire Nation isn't fair to them. If you want to be angry at people, don't be angry at those who have done nothing to you."

"He!" She said and pointed to Zuko. "Has done things to us!" She yelled.

"Katara-" Aang began, but was cut off by Katara who turned quickly to look at him.

"No!" She yelled. "I can't just forget and forgive everything he's done to us!"

"And I'm not asking you to do that." Aang said and shook his head. "When I train with Zuko, it still scares me when he bends at me, because of what he's done to us. Anger hurts everyone around you and you seem to forget how much hurt and anger I've caused people."

"What are you talking about?" Katara asked, her anger suddenly gone.

"You know what happened when I first found out I was the Avatar." He said. "I was scared and I ran away from it. From my people. Because I left, this war happened. Because I left, thousands died and thousands became angry with me and hurt that they lost people they care about. I'm going to have to live with that. I'm going to have to live with knowing that because I left, some of most my friends died, my people were wiped out and a war like this was allowed to happen." He said and looked at the ground. "This temple is evidence of that. It use to be so full of life and now it's in ruins, just like the rest of the world. All because I left."

"That's different, Aang." Katara said with a sigh.

"No, it not." He said and shook his head, before standing and looking at her. "I'm a kid and when I found out I was the Avatar, it scared me and I ran away. Before that, I was just a kid who could travel the world and play with my friends. The only responsibilities I had, were learning from the monks and caring for Appa before I was told what I was. Based on what we know of his family, I don't think Zuko was ever really able to be a kid. Look around, Katara. Besides Hakoda and Chit Sang, the rest of us are kids. Zuko's just a kid as well and who did kids want to prove themselves to?" He asked.

Katara was silent for a moment. "Their parents…" She said and looked away.

"I'm not asking you to forgive him, but you're the only one who hasn't." He said with a sigh. "There are always things we don't know about people. That's why it's such a hard thing to judge someone. People mess up. All of us have. A person cannot just look at the people who brought them into this world, their mothers and fathers, the people they grew up with, their siblings and friends and just decide to fight on the other side of a war. Against their home, their family. Everything that they knew."

"I know… I just can't…" She trailed off and looked at Zuko, before looking back to Aang.

Aang sighed. "Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." He said and picked up his staff. "I need to go feed Appa and I think it would be best if everyone probably ate something too and then went to bed." He said and walked away. 


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I absolutely hated rewriting this chapter. I couldn't figure out just how I wanted to begin it, so I really didn't change it that much.**

 **\- Disclaimer: If I owned the show or comic series, I wouldn't be writing this.**

 **\- Rated: T**

 **\- Warnings: Nothing that hasn't already been shown in the show or comic series.**

 **\- Written: No clue.**

 **\- Edited: 1/6/17**

 **\- Chapter 3:**

 *** "Speaking"  
* **_**Thoughts  
**_ ***** **Dreaming  
** ***** " **Dream Speaking"** **  
*** _ **Memories**_

 ***** " _ **Memory Speaking"**_

* * *

Slowly Zuko opened his eyes and instantly regretted it. Everything was way too bright and it forced him to shut his eyes and groan quietly, trying not to gain the attention of the others. He briefly wondered why everything was so bright, but his thoughts instantly when to Toph when he heard her voice.

"He's awake." Toph said. Of course it would have been her that knew he was awake.

Without opening his eyes, he could tell who was suddenly next to him by the sudden and small gust of air that followed the body. He sighed slightly and tried to open his eyes again. Everything was still too bright, but not anything like it was when he had first opened his eyes. He turned his attention to the happy, yet still worried face of Aang.

"Zuko!" Aang said happily. "You're awake!" He said with a large smile.

Zuko was silent for a moment. "I know." He said, his voice holding slight annoyance. Though, once he heard himself, it wasn't Aang he was annoyed with anymore. He sounded like a badgerfrog. _Great..._ He thought to himself when he heard Chit Sang snort at the sound of his voice. He tried to push himself up, only to have Aang push him back down. This caused him to glare at the 12 year old.

"Sorry…" Aang said as he slowly pulled his hands away. "But Katara said that if you woke up, you had to stay down." He explained.

"I don't care." Was all he said as he slowly pushed himself up and gave Aang a looked that said: 'Don't touch me.'. When he was up, his vision tilted, forcing him to put his hands behind himself and close his eyes for a moment. Slowly he opened them again, looking at a now very concerned Aang. "I-I'm fine, and if you ask, you'll be training with Chit Sang for a week and I doubt he'll be as careful as I have been." He threatened.

Aang swallowed and spared a glance at Chit Sang, who only smiled back before looking back to Zuko. "Well… I-uh-I better go get Katara…" He said getting up quickly, before rushing off and away from the group.

Once he was gone, Zuko turned his eyes to look at the other two people near him. "Where is everyone else?" He asked after a moment.

"The Duke, Haru and Teo are exploring. Sokka is with Suki, Hakoda and Katara." Toph answered from her spot near the fountain.

"H-how long have I been out?" He asked after a moment. He didn't want to actually know, but he needed to know how much time his sister had, had already. She would be looking for them and he had no doubt in his mind that she would eventually find them if they stayed here. The Fire Nation hadn't touched this temple in years and it was the closest thing to The Boiling Rock that wasn't a town, village or city

"Three days." Chit Sang answered.

"What!?" Zuko yelled and made to get up, only to regret it as is vision tilted and ended up falling back down into a lying position, putting a hand over his eyes.

"Yeah real smart, Sparky." Toph said and looked in his general direction. Zuko groaned at not only the pain in his head, but also at Toph's nickname for him.

"Sparky?" Chit Sang asked and looked to the blind girl.

"I have nicknames for everyone." She answered. "Speaking of which, I need to come up with one for you and one for Hakoda." She said and lied back on the fountain's edge.

"I'll pass." Chit Sang said and shook his head.

"It's not an option…" Zuko said quietly, having not moved from his position.

Right after he said this, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Aang and Hakoda walked back towards the group.

"What's not an option?" Hakoda spoke.

"Nicknames." Both Zuko and Toph answered.

"Are you al-" Aang stopped when Zuko removed his hand from his eyes to glare at the airbender.

Katara sighed and walked over to Zuko, getting on her knees next to him and moving his hand away from his face. He glared at her slightly and pulled his hand away, resting it on the ground.

"I don't want to be near you either." She said with a bite to her voice. "But you're Aang teacher and he needs to learn firebending." She muttered as she began to feel around his head where he was hit it. "The swelling's almost gone." She said and pulled water from the fountain again, before putting her hands over his chest and arms. Everyone was silent while she checking on Zuko's wounds and healed anything else that she missed before. When she was done, she stood. "It would be best for you to not get up until tomorrow or the next day." She said and bended the water over the edge of the temple. "I don't have experience with head injuries and am not about to try it out and possibly mess up your head more than it already is." She said, causing him to glare at her again. She returned the glare before she turned to Aang. "Let's practice some more." She said and walked away. Aang looked at Sokka and just shrugged before following his waterbending teacher.

"It's almost lunch, so why don't you help me make something for everyone?" Suki asked and looked to Sokka.

"He'll burn it." Toph suddenly said.

"I will not!" Sokka said and quickly looked to the girl.

"You burned the rice last time you cooked it and you overcooked the fish we had a few weeks ago. There's a reason Sweetness doesn't let you do anything other than smoke some of the meat." She said and folded her arms under her head.

Sokka opened his mouth, but shut it and sighed.

"I wont let him cook anything then." Suki said. "I'll still find something for him to do." She said and smiled at Sokka.

Sokka sighed again, but didn't protest. "Alright." He said as he followed her to grab some things and come back to the fire.

"Keep it clean you two." Toph said with a slight laugh.

"Toph!" Sokka said. "Don't say things like that in front of my dad!" He yelled as he turned to look at her. Hakida laughed slightly at his sons reaction.

Suki just rolled her eyes and shook her head, before grabbing the back of Sokka's shirt and pulling him to the room where they had been keeping the supplies.

Zuko sighed and pushed himself up to a sitting position. It may have been the head injury, but he felt like his sister was already on her way here. There may have been a lot of ground for her to cover, but she had her ways.

"How are you-" Hakoda began.

"I'm fine." Zuko answered before he could finish.

Hakoda looked at him for a moment, before shaking his head and taking a seat near Chit Sang. He'd heard from everyone how his personality and temper were like, so he didn't want to push the former prince into hurting himself more by getting angry.

"We never finished our spar from yesterday." Chit Sang said and looked to Hakoda.

"I was thinking about that." Hakoda said with a nod. "Want to finish after we eat?" He asked.

"Yeah." Was all Chit Sang said in response as Suki and Sokka came back. Sokka carrying everything they needed for cooking.

"Remind me why I'm carrying everything?" Sokka asked as he struggled with the cooking pot and the things inside of it.

"Because you're my boyfriend and wouldn't have me carry anything after I just got out of prison." She said with a smile as she looked at him over her shoulder.

He looked at her a moment and sighed, before thankfully dropping the pot near the fire and taking out, a stack of bowls, rice, some smoked fish and some spices Aang had found, before putting the pot on the fire itself. "Hey, Toph." Sokka said and looked to the girl.

"Hmm?" She responded.

"Katara usually uses waterbending to get the water into the pot and neither her or Aang are here, so could you use earthbending?" He asked.

"How would you expect me to do that?" She asked and turned her head towards him.

"Well, you could make a large rock bowl or something, put it in the fountain and then bend it over here. You can feel where the pot is, right?" He asked.

"Yes." She answered for the second question. "But maybe I wanna make you struggle." She said with a smile.

"Hey, this is your lunch too. We even have some fish that I got yesterday." He said.

She thought for a moment. She finally sighed and stood up. "Fine." She said and did as asked, earthbending a container and dropping it in the fountain for a couple minutes, before bending it over to Sokka and Suki, setting it right next to the pot.

"Thanks." Sokka said and smiled at her. Just as he thanked her, she made the ground under him shift suddenly, throwing him to the ground with some of the water splashing out of the pot she had made. "Toph!" He whined as he rolled away and stood up.

Toph only laughed and laid back onto the edge of the fountain.

Sokka gritted his teeth and mumbled something under his breath, before Suki grabbed the back of his shirt again and turned him towards the meal they were preparing. "Just cut the meat into smaller pieces." She said and let go, beginning to cook the rice.

"I was meaning to ask you." Hakoda said and looked to Chit Sang. "Why'd you seem so calm to find out who Aang was?" He asked.

Chit Sang shrugged. "Everyone's known he's been alive for awhile now. Even in prison, the guards like to gossip. It's even gotten around that the prince over there-"

"I'm not a prince anymore." Zuko said and gave Chit Sang a small glare.

Chit Sang laughed once. "Anyway, it's even gotten around that he joined the Avatar. So when he showed up at The Boiling Rock and I found out who he was, I figured that we were heading back to the rest of the Avatar's group." He answered.

"You still seem a little calm about it." Hakoda pointed out.

"And you don't?" Chit Sang asked. "The stories we heard back at the prison, said that the Avatar was traveling with two others. Two kids. Now, unless the Water Tribe people age terribly, you're not a kid. I also heard about the battle that got you sent to prison in the first place. If the stories are true, you couldn't have met the Avatar more than once or twice before now."

Hakoda was silent for several seconds. "You're very observant…"

Chit Sang laughed. "Hey, looking dumb has it's advantages." He said. "Back before prison, I was able to get away with a lot of things because I look dumb."

"Not sure if that's a good thing or not for us…" Suki said and looked to the two men.

"Hey, Sokka looks pretty stupid, but he's come up with some clever things to help us out before." Toph said, causing Suki and Chit Sang to laugh slightly. Hakoda smiled and shook his head.

"Toph!" Sokka yelled and looked to the earthbender. "You just love knocking me down, don't you?" He asked.

"She's an earthbender." Zuko said and glanced at Sokka. "That's what they do."

"Oh, right…" Sokka said and rubbed the back of his neck.

"See what I mean?" Toph said with a slight laugh as she sat up.

"Hey, Chit Sang." Suki said, causing the man to look at her.

"What?" He asked.

"Sokka and I were talking on the way back here, and according to him Zuko doesn't like to talk about the Fire Nation much, so we were wondering if you could fill us in on somethings?" She asked as she stirred the rice.

"Depends on what you want to know." Chit Sang answered. "Things that have happened in the past few years I've only heard about in stories from the guards, so I might not know a lot." He said.

"We just wanted to know how some things work in the Fire Nation." Sokka answered.

"Awesome!" Toph said, causing everyone to look at her.

"I've been wanting to ask questions too, but whenever I ask Sparky, he never answers my questions." She said.

"You never asked anything about the Fire Nation. Only about my family." Zuko pointed out with an annoyed look on his face as he slowly pushed himself back up.

"I've asked too." Sokka said. "About the actual Fire Nation and not your family. You still blew me off." He said as he finished cutting the fish into smaller pieces.

"That's because you ask stupid questions." Was all Zuko responded with, not even looking at the other teen.

"No I don't!" Sokka defended himself.

"You asked me if we had polar dogs." Zuko said and looked at him. "Polar dogs. Polar."

Sokka opened his mouth and then closed it again. "OK… I guess that was a pretty stupid question…" He said and looked down at the fish he'd just cut up.

"What do you want to know?" Chit Sang asked and looked to Suki and Sokka.

They were both silent for a moment as they thought. "Why were the dragons hunted?" Suki asked.

"For sport." Chit Sang answered. "In the Fire Nation, if a person was able to kill a dragon they would be given the title of 'Dragon' and they ould be considered a legend because they were able to take down the original master or source of firebending."

"For sport?" Sokka said. "Did the Fire Nation ever do anything with their bodies? I mean the Water Tribe does kill for sport, but it's more like who can kill it first type of thing. We use as much of the animal as we can."

Chint Sang shrugged. "I guess it would depend on who killed it." He said and thought for a moment. "I know that some would have armor or other things made from the skin and bones. Some would leave the body and do nothing with it. Before their numbers started dying down, I think people use to trade their fangs, horns, skin and bones. Mainly the skulls."

"No one tried to stop that from happening?" Suki asked.

"To do so would be considered going against the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation." Zuko said and looked at her. "You can be killed in the Fire Nation for less than that, so anyone who was against it, usually kept it to themselves."

"Anyone who did try and stop it, sometimes were used as bait for the dragons." Chit Sang said. "Most dragons never trusted humans that much to begin with, but when they began to be hunted, most of them killed any human they saw."

Everyone was silent for a few moments. "How'd they kill them?" Toph asked. "I mean, taking something down that's supposed to be huge, that is considered the original firebending masters, doesn't sound very easy."

"That's why you were considered a legend if you killed one." Zuko said and looked at her.

"I don't know a lot about it, but from what I do remember, they'd try and stop them from being able to fly. If they were able to injure their wings, it would force the dragon down and once on the ground, they're a lot easier to kill." Chit Sang answered. "They can't be killed using firebending, and because of that, there have not been many people who have been able to take down a dragon on their own. In groups, the one to deliver the finishing blow would usually be the one to be given the title."

"That's terrible…" Suki said and looked down slightly.

"You're the one that wanted to know." Chit Sang said and looked to her.

"I know…" She said and sighed.

"There anything else you wanted to know?" He asked.

"What do the people in the Fire Nation do for fun?" Toph asked. "You know, besides burning peoples homes down."

"Uhh…" Chit Sang said and thought for a moment. "We don't have a lot of gatherings if that's what you mean. There are a couple festivals. Other than that, it's whatever each different person wants to do in their free time." He said with a shrug. "I never really got into things like festivals." He said and then looked to Zuko. "What about you?" He asked.

"What?" Zuko asked and looked at him.

"I know the royals did things every now and then. What'd you all do?" He asked.

"C'mon, Sparky. It doesn't have to be something about your family. What did you do for fun?" Toph asked.

Zuko looked at him for a moment and sighed. He really didn't want to talk about his family or himself, but he knew that eventually he would have to and he guessed that he kind of owed it to at least Toph since he'd been the one who burned her. "I never did anything for fun by myself and nothing we ever did as a family was very fun. Sometimes we'd go to Ember Island. Sometimes I'd go to plays with Uncle or-..." He stopped and gritted his teeth for a moment.

"Or what?" Suki asked and tilted her head slightly.

"Or nothing." Zuko answered and forced himself up to his feet. Trying to ignore the spinning his head got when he did that, or the slight ache from the mostly healed burns Azula had given him. "It's got nothing to do with you." He said and began to walk away, once he felt that he wasn't going to fall over that is.

Everyone looked at each other with confused expressions, except for Hakoda, who watched Zuko walk away, before standing up himself and heading the way Zuko did.

"Dad." Sokka said, causing him to stop and look at his son. "It's better to just leave him alone for awhile."

"You may think that, Sokka. But you've never raised kids before." He said with a small smile, before turning and heading after Zuko.

He was surprised at how far Zuko had managed to get away from the rest of the group, considering he was still injured. It didn't help that there were many hallways and turns that he could have taken in even just the short distance ahead of him that the teenager had. When he finally found the teenager, Zuko was sitting on a small ledge with his back against the wall, with one leg up to his chest an arm resting on his knee with the other leg hanging over the side. He stood there for a moment, before walking over to where the firebender was. Careful to not startle the boy or fall off the ledge.

Zuko glanced at him from the corner of his eye and then looked away as Hakoda sat down next to him, crossing his legs as he sat. Hakoda sat there silently and waited for Zuko to speak.

"Why'd you follow me?" Zuko asked after a moment, figuring that he would have to be the one to break the silence.

"A couple of reasons." Hakoda answered. "One, you're injured and wandering off like you did, wasn't a very smart idea. I'm not sure this is the best place to be right now either…" He said and looked over the edge. "Two, and probably the more important reason, is that something is bothering you." He said and looked at Zuko.

"Nothing's bothering me." Zuko said. "I just don't want to be around anyone. I've always been like that." He said and looked back over the canyon. He could hear the rush of water below them, as the river water made its way through the canyon.

"What makes you think that's a good thing?" Hakoda asked. Zuko said nothing. "Look, I wont make you say anything about what's bothering you. But from the little that I've been told about you, about the Fire Nation and the way your sister treated you… You are a very closed off person and I can understand wanting to keep certain things to yourself, but there comes a point in time, where keeping certain things to yourself does more harm than good." He said and leaned against the wall. "Sokka went through the same thing when he was a kid and his mother died." He said, causing Zuko to look at him. "For almost two years, he never talked about it and eventually… He snapped." Zuko looked away again and rested his head against the wall. He pulled up his left leg and tucked it under his right. "One day we were out hunting and one of our polar dogs took off. When we went after her, we came across the Fire Nation ship that's stuck in the ice near our village. He just froze up and then fell to his knees crying when he saw it."

"Why are you telling me this?" Zuko asked after a moment. He didn't understand why Hakoda would even care to come and find him, let alone tell him something that is extremely personal about his son. Honestly, even though he was only a year older than Sokka and he knew that they had lost their mother for some time now, this was making him feel guilty even though he was probably still in the Fire Nation when it happened.

"Because I've seen your sister, I know of your father, and the kids told me about your uncle. The one person I didn't hear about, was your mother." When Zuko tensed, Hakoda knew he was on the right track. He sighed and looked at the canyon. "When Sokka fell to his knees like that, at first it scared me. I didn't know why he suddenly fell like that. I thought he might have gotten hurt somehow. Then I thought about the ship. About his mother. I stood there and just thought about that day. I had thought about it at least a thousand times before, but that time was different."

"Wh-" Zuko began and then stopped, swallowed, and continued. "Why was that time different?" He asked and glanced at Hakoda.

"Because, when it first happened. When I first lost my wife, I knew that not only had I lost my wife, but my children lost their mother. I didn't cry much, because I needed to be my tribe's leader and I needed to be strong for my kids. But until that moment, the only one of my children I'd ever seen cry about it, was Katara. Sokka was trying to be stronger than a boy his age should ever have had to be. When he broke down like that… It hit me harder than anything before, that my wife would never see our children grow. She would never see their children and maybe even their children's' children." He said and swallowed the lump in his throat. He closed his eyes, took a breath and then opened them again. "Realizing all of this, I broke down. I fell to my knees in front of my son and held him close and we just cried." He sighed and looked at Zuko, who looked away quickly. "I kept thinking back to every possible way I could have helped. Every possible way that I could have stopped them from killing her. There was nothing I could have done." He said and gave a small shrug. "I hate to say it, and I miss her everyday... But in that moment, the firebenders that came to the village, were looking for the last waterbender we had."

"Katara." Zuko said, causing Hakoda to nod.

"They wouldn't have left until they either had who they thought was the waterbender or they killed the whole village. My wife made a choice and in doing so, I have no doubt in my mind that she saved the whole village. If I had tried to save her, if I had gotten there before he did... The chance that my village would have been slaughtered… Would have grown. I would have never given them what they wanted." He said and looked down, before shaking his head. "Even now it hurts to think about how I've lost her. Back when I broke down, it hurt more because I had been holding everything inside. It had also hurt more, because I broke down in front of my son. One of the people I needed to be strong for." He said with a sigh and was silent for a few moments. "Even a grown man needs to let it out." He said and looked at Zuko. "Just because I'm an adult and I'm the leader of a tribe, that doesn't mean things don't hurt me. Letting out your emotions every now and then, is healthy. I don't mean to be rude… But keeping your emotions in all the time, you begin to become a bitter person."

Zuko didn't look at him for a few minutes. "Why do you even care?" Zuko asked and looked to Hakoda.

"You're a child, Zuko." Hakoda answered, then raised his hand to stop whatever Zuko was about to say. "I don't care if you're considered an adult in your nation or if you think yourself one. Sokka is old enough to be a provider for our village, but he's still a child. You're a 16 year old boy. Judging by that scar, you've gone through more than you should have by your age, but that doesn't change that you're a child." He said and sighed. Zuko just shook his head and looked away. "When was the last time you even got to be a kid?" Hakoda asked. Zuko was silent.

"How did we get off the Boiling Rock?" He asked, changing the subject. He knew Hakoda probably wasn't going to let this go any time soon, but the longer he could stall talking with the man about anything that involves his family or his childhood, was for the better.

Hakoda sighed before answering. "When the warden told his guards to cut the line, you're sister and her friend jumped to the other gondola. When we were getting you, Sokka and Suki back into the gondola, a Fire Nation girl began to fight of the guards and set the gondola back into motion. When then took what was probably your sisters way off that volcano." He answered.

Zuko thought for a moment. "Fire Nation girl?" Zuko said and gave him a confused look.

"Sokka said she was your girlfriend." Hakoda answered. Zuko's eyes widened slightly and groaned, forcing himself back against the wall again. "Be careful with your head."

Zuko ignored him. "Her name is Mai." He said and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out again. "Why would she do that?! And with my crazy sister there too!" He yelled and forced himself away from the wall. Hakoda nearly had a heart attack thinking that the teenager was about to go over the edge, but calmed down when Zuko only rested his elbows on his knees.

Hakoda sighed and shook his head at himself. "Sorry I mentioned it-"

"No." Zuko said and shook his head slightly. "I'm glad I know." He said and sighed, lifting his head up to look at the sky. "I-... I don't think Azula would have killed her… At least I know she doesn't hate me anymore." He said and shook his head, leaning back again. Hakoda smiled slightly, causing Zuko to look at him strangely. "What?" He asked.

"Even if it was anger, you let it out." He said, causing Zuko to open his mouth slightly. "Even letting anger out, makes you feel just a little better, doesn't it?" He asked.

Zuko stared at him for a moment. He wasn't going to lie about that either. He feared for Mai's life, his Uncle's as well. He'd let his anger out before, but that was before he found his own path. Now that he had, letting his anger out did help. Even if it was slight. "Yeah…" He said quietly and looked down slightly.

Hakoda smiled and shook his head, putting a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "I'm sorry about your girlfriend and everything else that you've gone through, but like I said, I won't make you talk about anything if you don't want to, but keeping it inside, helps no one. Especially not yourself." He said and looked around. "Now, what do you say we get of this death trap of a ledge and head back to the fire? I'm sure Suki and Sokka have finished cooking by now and you haven't had anything to eat for three days."

To be honest, Zuko wasn't hungry, but he knew that especially if he was going to be teaching firebending, the only bending where the person actually had to produce their element, he needed to eat. He gave a small nod and let Hakoda help him up, before they made their way off the ledge and to… Could an upside down temple even be considered solid ground?

When he first got up, he nearly fell over the side of the temple, Hakoda having to steady him as they walked off the ledge. When they were off it, he let the boy stand and walk on his own, but he made sure to keep close to him as the teenager swayed slightly on his feet. While he didn't like to feel like he was being treated as a kid, he was thankful Hakoda was there. It was a little strange though. He found himself trusting the man after having only known him for a short time. Most of that time he wasn't even awake. He didn't pay much attention to that, and more attention to staying upright as they headed back to the group.

When they got back to the group, everyone else had joined Toph, Sokka, Suki and Chit Sang, and were already eating. Zuko walked back to where he'd been lying before, Toph having moved next to his spot just before they came back. He sat down and looked at the bowl of rice and fish Suki passed to him for a moment, before thanking her and taking it.

"Where were you two?" Katara asked, watching Zuko carefully, before looking back to her father.

"Sparky got all sensitive and left, so dad went after him." Sokka said, causing Zuko to glare at him slightly.

"The only reason I let her call me that," Zuko said and looked to Toph, before looking back to Sokka. "Is because she can hurt me. You can't." He said, causing Toph to laugh slightly.

"What makes you say that?" Sokka asked annoyed. Zuko didn't answer and a moment later Sokka was forced to jump back away from the fire as small flames flickered out and licked at his feet.

"You were saying?" Zuko asked and began to eat. Katara glared at the firebender slightly, but said nothing.

"I agree with Sparky." Toph said. "Besides, the only one who can use nicknames, is me." She said and pointed to herself.

Sokka slumped his shoulders in defeat and sunk down next to Suki, before finishing his food.

"Hey, Zuko." Aang said, causing his teacher to look at him. "When do you think we can start training again?" He asked.

"Tomorrow." He answered.

"No." Katara said, causing Zuko and Aang to look at her.

"Why not?" Zuko asked.

"Because, you're still injured and if you make yourself worse, you're useless as a teacher." She answered, her voice holding a bossy and annoyed tone.

"I wasn't going to get up and firebend with him." Zuko said. "There are many things he still has to learn, to be able to fully control the fire he produces. Besides, in prison there's not a lot to do other than talk to other inmates and work out. I'm sure Chit Sang would be wanting to spar against another bender after not being able to for a long time." He said and looked to Chit Sang, who only nodded as he finished off his food.

"I don't know about that…" Katara said. She gave Zuko only a shred of trust because he was Aang's teacher. Chit Sang was just a random person who they brought along when they escaped.

"If he hasn't attacked us by now, I don't think he would." Aang said and shook his head. "Just like Zuko is always awake before everyone else, Chit Sang is too."

"I wondered about that." Suki said. "Why do firebenders wake up so early?" She asked.

"The sun." Zuko answered. "Not all firebenders wake up with it rises, but many do. Especially those who have either almost mastered firebending or those who are masters. It's like how waterbenders are usually stronger at night. The moon is the source of their power. The sun is the source of ours."

"So that's why you always stayed up late." Sokka said and looked to his sister.

"You already knew the moon was the source of power for waterbenders." She said and looked at him.

"I know. But I didn't know the moon was why you stayed up late or that the sun was why Zuko didn't ever seem to sleep in." He pointed out.

Katara sighed and said nothing, shaking her head.

"I wonder what that feels like." Toph said. "I mean, for Aang, Haru and I, our element is almost always around us. Even if we're on a ship. We can always feel it, even if it's only a little bit."

"Firebenders and waterbenders can always feel the sun or moon." Zuko said and looked at her. "It doesn't go away. Our feeling of them just becomes weaker during the day or night. When the sun or moon rises, most of us feel like we have more energy. "

"He's right." Katara said with a sigh, hating to agree with Zuko. "Even now I can feel the moon and it's the middle of the day. Even when the moon can't be seen at night, I still feel it's presence there."

"Still seems weird to me." Toph said with a shrug.

"That's because you're an earthbender." Katara said.

Toph shrugged. "Point taken." She said and tossed her empty bowl in the general direction of Katata.

"Toph!" Katara scolded as she had to put her own food down and catch it, before it fell into the rest of the rice over the fire. "Don't do that!" She said and set it down on the ground, before returning to her own food.

Zuko smiled slightly and shook his head, before looking at the fire.

* * *

 **A/N: I know that this took longer to be updated than it should have taken, especially since the only real thing I have to do it edit an almost completely finished story. I will try to edit and upload the rest of the chapters soon, so please just be patient with me.**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Cindar asked about the lack of Fire Nation questions and the lack of questions about Chit Sang being in prison, so I'm going to work more on those two things in this chapter. Another thing, there are certain parts where I have made up things for/about the Fire Nation, just to help things go along and so that I don't spend 2 hours on one paragraph trying to make things fit. 

\- Disclaimer: If I owned the show or comic series, I wouldn't be writing this.

\- Rated: T

\- Warnings: Nothing that hasn't already been shown in the show or comic series.

\- Written: No clue.

\- Edited: 1/6/17

\- Chapter 4:

* "Speaking"  
* Thoughts  
* Dreaming  
* "Dream Speaking"  
* Memories

* "Memory Speaking"

* * *

Later that night, after everyone had returned to the fire, Katara and Haru began to work on making everyone dinner.

"Hey, can we ask some more questions about the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked, looking to Chit Sang and Zuko. Katara looked up from the cooking pot for a moment, but said nothing and went back to stirring. Deciding on two things. One, it wouldn't be a bad idea to learn more about the Fire Nation. Two, she didn't want to upset Aang or get a lecture from her father at this moment.

"Go ahead." Chit Sang answered with a shrug as he looked to the teen.

"What's your food like?" He asked.

"Really, Sokka?" Katara asked and looked at her brother. "Out of everything you could have asked. You as about their food?"

"What?" Sokka said and raised his shoulders. "I'm a simple kind of person. We didn't really get to try out many Fire Nation foods while we were there." She sighed and shook her head at him. Hakoda smiled slightly. "And while I liked those fire flakes, they burned my mouth so bad I could still taste them two days later."

"We have a lot of spicy foods." Chit Sang answered. Everyone, with the exception of Toph, just gave him a look that said 'Of course the Fire Nation does.' Chit Sang ignored the looks. "Something that I'm pretty sure is a Fire Nation only food, is komodo rhino meat."

"I thought those were animals people ride." Sokka said as Katara handed him a bowl of rice. "Thanks." He said as he took it.

"They are." Zuko answered. "They're used for work and for food."

"What do with the meat?" Toph asked.

"It's mostly used in komodo sausages. But if the meat can't be stored or eaten right away, it's smoked or preserved with salt." He answered and looked at her.

"Here." Katara said as she handed Zuko and Toph bowls of rice.

"Thank you." Zuko said and took his bowl.

"Does it taste good?" Sokka asked.

"Depends on how it's cooked and what it's put into." Zuko answered with a shrug as he began to eat.

"I'd have to agree with that." Chit Sang said with a nod. "When I was a kid, my mom use to put the meat into soup. Now, it might have been because she was a terrible cook, but I never liked it. The sausages are all right… but it's not something I would choose to eat if there were other options."

"Over all," Zuko said. "Our foods are pretty simple as far as what's farmed in the Fire Nation. Like the Earth Kingdom, things actually grown or raised in the Fire Nation are simple to care for, basic and are quick to grow." He said and looked at the fire.

"I'm guessing that's because the Fire Nation likes efficency." Hakoda said, gaining a nod from the former prince.

"How many of the volcanos are still active?" Toph asked as she finished her food.

"Most of them are." Zuko answered and looked to her. "The volcanos are where we draw a lot of our power. So, even when one erupts, the power that comes from it can still help us in many ways."

"How can a volcano erupting, help you out?" Sokka asked. "I mean, a lot of your villages and cities are near volcanos right? Wouldn't you have to evacuate?" He asked and tilted his head slightly.

"Depends on how bad the eruption is, honestly. While most of what's coming out is molten rock, the fire element is still there. While we can't completely bend it away or stop it, we can slow it down. As long as it's not a large eruption, we can usually hold it off until it slows down and cools enough on it's own." Zuko answered and set his bowl in his lap. "As for how it helps us, the ash can help with farming, and when one erupts we then know which volcanoes might erupt again and which are still sleeping."

"Villages are usually not built too close to a volcano, active or sleeping." Chit Sang said. "The cities are mostly built from metal and rock. The villages, at least most of them, are not and would go up in flames in a matter of minutes."

"Couldn't you just bend the fire?" Sokka asked.

"No." Chit Sang and Zuko said at the same time, causing them to look at each other for a moment, before looking back to Sokka.

"Think of it this way." Zuko said and nodded to Katara. "Waterbenders can bend the water around them and if a giant wave came at a group of waterbenders, chances are they wouldn't be able to fully control it."

"It's worse for firebenders." Aang said and looked to Sokka. "Zuko's right. While using a giant wave as an example might not have been the best, it still made sense. Airbenders are really the only ones who don't have that bad of a weakness with our element. Our main issue is if there is no air, which is a hard situation to come by. When it comes to controlling the element you were born with, firebenders had the hardest time controlling it out of everyone. Me burning Katara and Zuko burning Toph are examples of this." He said and set his empty bowl down.

"I'd have to agree with that." Haru said, deciding to join the conversation. "As far as controlling the element goes, from easiest to hardest, it would go: Air, Earth, Water and then Fire."

"Why is that?" The Duke asked.

"Because fire is really easy to lose control of." Aang answered and looked at him. "Water can be easy to lose control of too, but you can usually hold your breath and bend it away, fire isn't like that. If you lose control of it and it surrounds you, you're probably getting burned… Or you can even kill yourself. That's why most of the Fire Nation buildings are made out of metal and rock."

"They won't catch fire." Haru said causing Aang to nod.

"I guess that makes sense." Sokka said with a nod.

"It was obvious to me while I was in prison, that most of the firebenders there didn't like the Fire Lord or even what's happened with this war." Suki said. "Do most of the Fire Nation citizens feel that way too?" She asked.

"Probably." Zuko answered with a nod. "There are many people who share the Fire Lord's ideals, mainly generals and people working in the military, but I've met many who don't. A lot of the students in schools definitely don't and many have been punished for breaking the strict rules or saying something against the war or the Fire Lord."

"Many small villages feel that way." Chit Sang announced, drawing everyone's attention. "Most of the small villages have little to no soldiers, so the people there can speak and act more freely."

Everyone was silent for a few minutes as they ate. Hakoda ended up being the one to break the silence.

"The most I have gone against during the war, has been ships." Hakoda said. "What is the rest of your military like?" He asked Chit Sang.

"You'd know more about that than I would." Chit Sang said and looked to Zuko.

"What part of the military do you want to know about?" Zuko asked. "There's the army, the navy, the air force, the Yuyan Archers and the Southern Raiders."

"Let's start with the navy." Hakoda answered.

Zuko nodded. "What makes up the The Fire Navy, is five fleets with ironclad cruisers that are powered by coal as basic units. They're usually commanded by admirals. Zhao was the overall commander, but he only commanded over a few ships and unless there was an order from the Fire Lord, the other ships did as the admirals wanted. The metal used to built the ships are refined as much as possible, to make sure earthbenders can't connect with the earth."

"Too bad I'm around now." Toph said with a smirk.

Zuko shook his head and smiled slightly for a moment, before continuing. "The Fire Navy is very organized and never goes into battle without a set plan, unless there is no time to create a plan that is. A lot of mercenaries are also hired to work on the ships. The Fire Navy is the only part of our military that does that."

"Why mercenaries?" Suki asked.

"If there's a sudden demand for ships, it leaves most of the ship's short-handed." He explained. "Mercenaries don't cost as much as the actual trained soldiers, are more easily gathered, and are expendable more so than the soldiers."

"What about the air force?" Sokka asked.

Zuko looked over to him. "It's made up of war balloons and airships. The war balloons can only hold a few firebenders, while the warships can easily carry hundreds of soldiers. There are usually platforms for firebenders to stand on when an attack is being made. On top of the firebenders, they often times carry bombs. When not being used for an attack, they sometimes bring supplies back and forth from the Fire Nation or colonies to the Fire Navy, it's faster and many of the airships and all of the war balloons can be powered by firebenders, so they don't have to carry coal." He answered.

"Who are the Yuyan Archers?" Haru asked.

Aang glanced at Haru for a moment, before looking back to Zuko. He never did tell Katara and Sokka about what happened when he went to look for those frozen frogs.

"I don't know a whole lot about them." Zuko admitted, sighing internally. He still hated how easily he'd been taken out by one archer. "But I do know that they are Colonel Shinu's archers. They're highly skilled and guard the Pohaui Stronghold. According to Zhao, they're skilled enough to pin a fly to a tree from one hundred yards away without killing it." He had to admit, that was probably true. The shot that one archer took at him, well most archers would have ended up hitting Aang instead.

"The army?" Katara asked, trying to not sound as annoyed as she was.

Zuko was silent for a moment, surprised that she'd actually asked him a question, but shrugged it off and answered. "The army has both firebenders and nonbenbers. The nonbender soldiers usually have things like spears, swords, and shields. The cavalry are the ones who ride the komodo rhinos. The army is also who uses the tanks. The tanks only have firebenders in them, are armored and have ports that let the crew to firebend out of. They can also shook giant grappling hooks."

"War prisoners are also sometimes dressed as soldiers and used." Chit Sang suddenly said.

"What?" Sokka said and looked to the firebender. "Why?"

"They're used as distractions." Zuko answered. "The idea behind it is, if they're used, there's a higher chance the soldiers won't be killed."

"That's terrible." Katara said in a low voice.

"I agree." Zuko said, causing Katara to glare at him. Zuko sighed and looked away from her.

"Who are the Southern Raiders?" Hakoda asked, even though he already had an idea who they were.

Zuko looked at him and was silent for a moment. Knowing what he did about their tribe, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea and not to tell them about the Raiders. He sighed and finally spoke. "The Southern Raiders are an elite force, that were given the job of raiding the Southern Water Tribe and the Southern Earth Kingdom. Their job was to kill all of the waterbenders in the Southern Tribe," From the corner of his eye, he could see Katara's hands clench into fists. "Steal supplies for the Fire Nation and devastate the coastlines of the South Sea."

Seeing Katara's reaction to the conversation, Suki decided to change it. "Hey, Chit Sang." Suki asked, causing the firebender to look at him. "How come you were at the Boiling Rock?" She asked.

"I got into a fight with some guy and ended up killing him." He answered simply.

"You… killed someone?" Sokka said and unknowingly got a little closer and in front of Suki.

"During the fight he knocked me down and tried stabbing me. I grabbed a rock and hit him with it." He explained. "I was just trying to get him away from me, but the hit killed him instead. I found out as I was being arrested, that he was a soldier that worked on Commander Zhao's ship."

"But you still killed someone." Katara said. She didn't trust this man to begin with, but now that she found out he killed someone, even if it was an accident like he said, it still made her want him gone even more. She definitely didn't want him sleeping near them or sparring with Aang.

"Yes." Chit Sang said with a nod.

"What was the fight about?" Aang asked, his face expressionless.

"He attacked my girlfriend." He answered.

"Didn't you leave her back at the Boiling Rock?" Sokka asked and tilted his head slightly.

"I didn't have much of a choice." Chit Sang answered and looked to him. "During the second escape, she was in one of the coolers."

"Why was your friend there?" Toph asked.

"Same reason I was. We were all together when the fight happened, so we were all arrested." He answered. He then looked to Zuko. "Hey, didn't you get into a fight with Zhao?" He asked.

"I've gotten into several fights with him." Zuko said.

"I meant the one that ended with an Agni Kai." He clarified.

Zuko was silent for a moment, before sighing and nodding. "Yes."

Chit Sang laughed slightly. "Heard you humiliated him in front of his men." Zuko only shrugged and said nothing. "Who challenged who?"

Zuko was silent for a moment. He really didn't want to talk about the Agni Kai with Zhao or about the man himself. "I challenged him." He answered.

"What lead up to that?" Was his next question.

He sighed and spoke. "It started out with him inviting Uncle and I for tea. Uncle accepted before I could refuse. While we were with him, he had his men interrogate my crew and he found out that I had the Avatar and he escaped. Our argument got worse from there and let's just say he said something that made me want to fight him more than I ever have." Zuko answered. "So I challenged him and we fought."

"Where'd you burn him?" Chit Sang asked.

"I didn't." He said and shook his head. "I already won. There wasn't a reason to burn him. I made him think I was going to, but I aimed my attack next to his head instead of at it and told him to not get in my way again."

"That was your second Agni Kai, right?" Chit Sang then asked, causing Zuko to stare at him. "What?" He asked after noticing the look he was getting from the other firebender.

"I don't care for talking about Agni Kais, or about Zhao." He answered in a low voice.

"It's something we should know about." Katara suddenly said, causing everyone to look at her.

"And why is that?" Zuko asked. He wasn't even trying to hide his annoyance at this point.

"Uhh… Guys…" Aang said and looked to his two teachers and friends.

"Because you want us to trust you. Well, if an Agni Kai is usually fought to the death, we know you didn't kill Zhao. What about your first Agni Kai?" She asked, her face hard. "Think about it, Zuko, we know basically nothing about you, expect that you're the son of the Fire Lord and have traveled the world hunting us."

"Katara…" Aang said, trying to get her attention. "I understand wanting to know more-"

"This isn't wanting to know more, Aang." Katara said and looked to him. "This is needed to know if he's ever killed someone and what it was about." Aang sighed and was about to speak again, when Katara looked back to Zuko. "Well?"

"It's got nothing to do with you, Katara. I've never killed anyone." Zuko said, narrowing his eyes at the waterbender before looking back to the fire. "Drop it."

"Katara." Aang said again, getting her attention. "Something you should know about an Agni Kai, at least before things were changed, is that it usually ends by the first person to get burned." He said quietly to her and then glanced at Zuko.

Katara looked at Aang for a moment, then looked back to Zuko. She knew his scar was from a burn, but she never found out what the burn was from. She always assumed it was from a training accident or something like that. She never thought it could have been from something like an Agni Kai. That still changed nothing at this moment though. Zuko was far too secretive for this group. If they are all to trust each other, they needed to know things about each other and no one, except for apparently Chit Sang, knew anything about him.

"Do you know what the Agni Kai was about?" She asked and looked to Chit Sang.

"Katara." Zuko almost growled and then looked to her. "It has nothing to do with you. Leave it alone." He said and then looked to Chit Sang. "Say anything and I'll show you how I beat Zhao." He threatened. He was doing his best to keep his anger in check, he had been since he joined the group, but Katara's pressing for information about him was really starting to get old. The fire in the middle of the group had already grown slightly since the beginning of this new conversation.

Chit Sang raised his hands in the air as a form of surrender and put them back down, saying nothing.

"So now you're threatening people?" Katara asked loudly. Hakoda was about to speak when Zuko did.

"You don't even trust him." Zuko pointed out. "Why would you care if I threaten him or not?" He said and crossed his arms slightly. "It's not like I threatened him out of nowhere. It's not like there wasn't a good reason to."

Katara faltered for a moment. "That doesn't matter. You still threatened someone. A threat is a threat. No matter what the reason is!" She raised her voice slightly.

"Katara." Hakoda said. "Enough. This is going nowhere except for into an argument."

"So you're taking his side?" She asked and looked to him. Hakoda sighed.

"I'm not taking anyone's side, Katara." He said and shook his head. "I've spoke with him about opening up to the rest of the group. But you can't force someone to do that."

"He's right, Katara." Aang said and looked at her. "Forcing people to open up, will only make them want to hide things more, which in turn will make you not want to even try and trust him and will make him not want to trust us."

"Aang,-" She started, but stopped when Zuko stood. She turned to look at him, her face still angry.

"Forget it, Aang." Zuko said and shook his head. "Just like she can't force me to tell her things I don't want to talk about, you can't stop her from acting like this. It's not worth the breath." He said and began to walk past them.

"Excuse me?" Katara said and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

Aang winced slightly, knowing he was probably going to have to stop the waterbender vs firebender fight that was likely going to happen now that she touched him.

"Let. Go." Was all Zuko said. "I'm not going to tell you again." He said when she didn't let go of him. The calmness in his voice did scare Aang slightly, but he wasn't too worried about the firebender suddenly attacking. That is, unless Katara didn't let go of him.

"Katara, come on." Aang said and stood. "Fighting like this is pointless."

"It wouldn't be a fight, if he just answered the question." She said and looked to Aang, before quickly pulling her hand off Zuko's shoulder with a slight yelp.

"Katara?!" Aang said worried as he was at her side in an instant.

She was holding her hand to her chest. "I said. Let. Go." Zuko said and glanced back at her. "In case you didn't know, firebenders can control their body temperature."

"You burned my sister?!" Sokka yelled and instantly went to Katara's side as well.

"No." He said and shook his head, turning to look at them. "She was just surprised by the sudden change. She's fine. Had I intended to burn her, I would have done more than raise my body temperature. I just wanted her to let go." Aang got Katara's hand away from her, to prove what Zuko had just said. "She thought she was going to get burned, so she backed off." He said and then looked at Katara. "I've taught Aang this, now let me teach you. The best way to never get burned, is to make sure you give fire space."

"You-" Katara was cut off by Hakoda's hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him slightly and he only shook his head at her. His expression hard.

"Leave it be, Katara." He said. "No offense," He said and looked at Zuko then looked back to his daughter. "But Zuko's right in saying that fire needs space. One of two things will happen when you try and smother fire. It will either go out, or it will spread. Trying to force someone, a firebender at that, to tell you something they do not want to talk about, will result in one of those."

She opened her mouth to say something, but shut it and sighed as she looked away from her father and towards the fountain. When she looked back up, Zuko was gone and Aang was standing in front of her. "Don't say it." She said and crossed her arms slightly.

"I wasn't going to try and scold you or anything." Aang said and shook his head. "I just wanted to let you know, that I know exactly how you feel about this. I felt the same way when he first joined and first tried to join. I know what it's like to hate the Fire Nation. When I saw what they... What they did to my people..." He said and looked around at the temple, before looking back to her. "Hate was the only thing I could think of and that triggered my Avatar state. I could have killed both you and Sokka when that happened. You pulled me out of it, because while I was and still am sad about what happened, I knew it was pointless to hate. It's not what the monks taught me and by hating the people who had done that to my people, it was going against them and they would have been disappointed in me for it."

"Aang-" She began.

"No, Katara." Aang said and shook his head, cutting her off. "Leaving behind everything you've ever known, is hard. Everyone here has had to do it. We all come from different cultures and therefore have a different way of feeling about it. I've seen a few Agni Kai's back when I would visit the Fire Nation. If his scar is from an Agni Kai, it could have taken months to heal and he's lucky he still has his eye." Katara's shoulders slumped slightly as he spoke. "I can't imagine it was someone that wasn't of high power that he fought with. Members of the royal family don't usually get challenged, because they get training in firebending like no one else. Firebenders in the royal family, are often times the most powerful firebenders in the nation and sometimes in the world."

"Chit Sang." Hakoda said and looked to the other firebender. "I doubt you want to get into a physical or elemental fight with Zuko, but can you at least tell us what kind of person he fought?" He asked.

"Another member of the royal family." Chit Sang answered.

Hakoda sighed and looked to Katara. "Look, wait for him to calm down and then go and talk to him." He said. "No arguments. If you actually try to understand how he sees things, it could help get you the answers you want."

She sighed and nodded. "All right." She said.

"I doubt he's going to come back tonight, but tomorrow would be a good time to try and talk to him." He said and then looked over to Chit Sang. "On a different note, we should move the airship. That's easily seen from the sky and it doesn't exactly blend in with the rocks."

"Tonight?" Chit Sang asked.

"Yes. It will be much harder to see at night, so it's better to move it now while it's dark. It'll be harder to spot, should someone come this way." Hakoda answered. Chit Sang nodded and stood up, following the man to the airship so they could hide it.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry if there were not enough questions about the Fire Nation in this. I'm thinking about wrapping this up within the next two or so chapters. This was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but most of my stories are that way and I just write too much for it to be a one-shot. Anyway, sorry about errors and such. Sorry if things seem all over the place. Sometimes when I write, I don't exactly realize what I'm writing until much later.**

OK, now I am caught up to where I left off on my other account, at least with this story. That being said, I am probably going to try and focus my attention on the last couple chapters of this story, since I had always intended to end it within the next chapter or three. If anyone is reading my other two stories, A Brother's Promise, while it does have somewhat of a plot now, is still mainly one-shots, so that is kinda my I don't have anything better to do story. The Count had a set plot right now and I will hopefully be getting back on that soon. I will also probably work on transferring the rest of my stories, as a couple of them are done and just needed editing. I will end up deleting that account once I have the rest of my stories on this one.


	5. AN

**I know that you were all hoping that this was going to be an actual chapter. I am sorry to say, that while I haven't been the best at updating quickly in the past anyway, I will probably not be updating any of my stories for awhile. Sadly, there has been a death in the family and I will be having a lot to deal with and take care of in the next few months. I will not be abandoning my stories, but I do not know when I will be updating now.**


	6. AN 2

**A/N: I just wanted to let everyone know that I am working on editing the next chapters for all of my stories, except for A Brother's Promise. I have been having writer's block with this one and am currently starting the next chapter. I am also posting a new story, a Skyrim/Avengers crossover, that I've had in the works for a few months now, something that I was working on between my other stories. I have a good few chapters finished and I'm just going through and editing it. It is a story where I like to get my readers more involved in, so if that's something anyone is interested in, go check it out. It's called After the Prophecy.**


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